Sony SLT-A33 Features

Introduction

The Sony SLT-A33 isn't just a new camera for Sony...it's an entirely brand new TYPE of camera.

The name is the giveaway: all other Sony digital SLRs bear the label DSLR in front of the camera number, like DSLR-A290.

But this Sony has the letters SLT instead of SLR - what's that about?

In fact, the A33 is not a "true" SLR - at least, not following the true definition of SLR. SLR is an acronym that stands for Single Lens Reflex. The defining feature of such cameras is a REFLEX mirror system that bounces the image that comes through the lens up to an optical viewfinder.

While the Sony SLT-A33 does have a mirror inside of it, that mirror does not reflect 100% of the light from the lens up to the viewfinder. Instead, the translucent mirror allows some light to pass through onto the digital sensor as it reflects some light up to the viewfinder.

However, the viewfinder in the SLT-A33 is NOT an optical one - it is electronic. This is why the A33 cannot be considered a "true" digital SLR camera and why it bears the label SLT instead.

Feature List

Megapixels

14.2

Stabilization

In Body

Memory Card

SD / SDHC / SDXC

Max. Shutter Speed

1/4000

Max. Photo Capture

7 per second

ISO Range

100 to 12800

Movie Modes

AVCHD1920 x 1080iMotion JPEG1440 x 1080640 x 480

LCD

Flexible 3in (921,600 dots)

Viewfinder

Electronic

Autofocus

15 point

Face Detect AF

Yes

Sensor Dimensions

23.4 x 15.6 (1.5x crop factor)

HDMI Port

Yes

Live View

Yes

Built-in Flash

Yes

Compatible Lenses

All Sony ALPHA

Battery

NP-FW50 LiIon

Dimensions

4.8 x 3.6 x 3.3in124 x 92 x 85mm

Weight

15.3oz (433g)

New and Notable

Clearly, what's new and notable on the SLT-A33 is that translucent mirror. But what - exactly - does the translucent mirror do for you when you want to take pictures?

In a traditional SLR camera system, a mirror sits directly in front of the camera's digital sensor. This mirror reflects light up to the camera's optical viewfinder so when you look through it you see exactly what the lens sees.

Every time you take a picture, the mirror flips up out of the way of the digital sensor so that it can be exposed to light.

When the mirror flips up, it temporarily disables the camera's autofocus system (the autofocus mechanism is located in the direction of the viewfinder, which is blocked when the mirror is up).

The mirror is in the "up" position at three different times:

Every time you take a photo

When you use the live view mode

When you capture video

If you're just taking a picture, then the autofocus is only disabled for a split second. But what happens when the mirror is flipped up for a long time when you use live view mode or want to capture video?

In these cases, the camera resorts to a secondary autofocus system that's not nearly as fast as the primary one.

The primary autofocus in any DSLR is also called phase detection — it's this system that allows you to focus (even on moving subjects) in fractions of seconds. The secondary autofocus is called contrast detection and it's the type of autofocus used in compact digital cameras.

The main difference between the two: speed. Phase-detection autofocus systems are substantially faster than contrast-detection systems.

This means that on most digital SLRs, autofocus in live view mode and during video capture is MUCH slower than it is when you're just taking still pictures. The translucent mirror system is designed to address this limitation.

Since the translucent mirror both reflects light up to the viewfinder AND allows light to pass through to the sensor, the phase-detection autofocus can be used in both live view and video capture mode.

This should result in much better autofocus performance regardless of how you're trying to use the camera.

The second side benefit is that cameras with a system like this are capable of MUCH faster continuous shutter speeds. The most common continuous shot speed on digital SLR cameras is 3 photos per second.

The Sony SLT-A33 is capable of capturing 7 photos per second, while its big brother the SLT-A55 can grab a speedy 10 photos per second.

The main drawback to a translucent mirror system is that you give up the optical viewfinder for an electronic one. Electronic viewfinders often don't have the same level of clarity as optical ones since they are really just tiny monitors stuck inside the camera's viewfinder.

The advantage that electronic viewfinders have over their optical counterparts is that camera settings (and other special displays like grids and horizon line levels) can be super-imposed on the viewfinder image.

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